Name: qi peng (spelled in lower case always)

Age: Last time I checked, I was hitting around 33. Round up to the next integer, I guess. Still younger than Jesus at the New Museum, which is sweet!

Hometown and City of Residence: Queens, New York -- represent, baby! Word up. I reside in South Salt Lake, my current artistic hood.

Medium and style specialty: I am a conceptual artist who pretty much executes everything from mixed media figurative paintings on canvas or wood panel to interview portraits (conceptual art) that I have been executing. For example, I have done conceptual portraits of all types of people ranging from April Gornik to Edward Winkleman to Matt Jones, my close artistic friend, to Alexis Granwell. This project has been covered by James Wagner, New York art critic, online at jameswagner.com/2009/03/me.html.

What's your art philosophy? My philosophy of art is that the method must follow the idea.

Why did you start making art? I wanted to become a writer, being a former English literature major and then found out that a lot more of my conceptual ideas worked better in visual terms. I do suck at writing fiction honestly. Plus I feel that painting and executing offbeat installation projects just served a fun-ner purpose! I enjoy making wonderful friends in the visual art world all over the world. A total blast, you know?

Do you have things you do when you paint; something that helps you feel more creative? I don't have a serious ritual before I engage being creative in the studio. However, it's pretty easy as a conceptual artist because I can work at home or at the Apple Store sometimes. I think that networking is more inspirational than preliminary sketches for my working methodologies. I make sure to listen to a lot of underground rap music while working because I can't concentrate on painting while listening to Bach or Mozart or even Steely Dan.

Being a local yourself, which local things/people/places inspire you? Pretty much everything in Utah inspires me a lot ranging from the offbeat culture to other grade-A artists, such as Brenda Wattleworth, to my friends here to wonderful restaurants such as The Hong Kong Tea House to even the architectural innovations such as Salt Lake's City Library.

Where can people see/buy your art right now? I am represented on the East Coast by The Barbara Ann Levy Gallery (www.balgallery.com), a cutting-edge gallery located in West Palm Beach, Florida. I have some work available through www.collegeartonline.com and you can contact Adam Rosepink or Vincent de Sarthe. Still looking for a local Utah or New York City or Los Angeles gallery to represent my conceptual and figurative work there in a physical exhibition space someday. Good to have a solo show to execute ideas that haven't been fulfilled yet.

Do you have any exhibits/events coming up? I have a few pieces at VSA Arts of Utah's 7th Annual 300 Plates Fundraiser and Exhibition next month. No solo exhibitions are planned here locally. You can peep a lot of the artwork online at www.collegeartonline.com and eventually at The Barbara Ann Levy Gallery. I'm still waiting to hear back regarding the results of some juried group exhibitions out in New York, etc. (Also I just completed a solo show over at Tanner Frames.) Later on, I plan to submit my interview portraits for a show at Art Access and hope that the judges enjoying viewing these conceptual pictures of art professionals. I also just found out recently that this interview series will be part of my first solo show at Envoy Gallery in Lower East Side, New York. The show, which takes place during June 2009, will be called "the qi peng dynasty." (Note: show is in lower case)

What are your accomplishments? Wow, this would be somewhat extensive. I have been exhibited in various places including the Projects Gallery, The Lab at Belmar, modern8 Gallery, James Cohan Gallery/NURTUREart, Visual AIDS/Metro Pictures, Art Raw Gallery, and Anna Kustera. Mostly places out in New York City and a few here in Salt Lake City. In terms of any awards, I was a featured artist in Issue 15 of culturehall (www.culturehall.com) and one of my paintings will be displayed in the Winter 2009 issue of Studio Visit Magazine published by The Open Studio Press. This is a national publication that curates artists similarly to the New American Paintings competition (which I submitted to recently). There's probably a few other things I must have forgotten but no big deal, I guess.

Anything else you'd like to tell our readers? Without people, I doubt that I could make it or want to make it as an artist. Yes, art is my bloodstream. I don't think that I could ever step away from the home plate of the act of creation in the stadium of an artist.

By the way, on a personal scale, still looking for a nice kind lady to be a girlfriend. Life is a cool blessing. Peace.

More info: www.qipeng.net. You can hit me up at qipengart@gmail.com or call me at 801-879-1971.